Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. Takes $4.50 Million Position in Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. $DNA

Key Points

• Prescott Group Capital Management opened a new position in Ginkgo Bioworks, buying 541,845 shares valued at about $4.5 million and representing 0.89% of the company.
• Insider selling continued, with Barry Canton and Steven P. Coen both selling shares in April; insiders have sold 542,981 shares worth about $3.55 million over the last 90 days.
• Analyst sentiment remains weak, with recent downgrades and a consensus rating of “Reduce”; BTIG cut its price target to $5 while the stock was trading around $7.71.

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 541,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,503,000. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. owned 0.89% of Ginkgo Bioworks as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DNA. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks by 322.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 158,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 121,326 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks by 113.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,427,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,137,000 after buying an additional 757,535 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks by 25.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 686,767 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,915,000 after buying an additional 139,126 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks during the first quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks during the second quarter valued at approximately $666,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ginkgo Bioworks

In other Ginkgo Bioworks news, major shareholder Barry Canton sold 124,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.43, for a total transaction of $801,994.61. Following the transaction, the insider owned 436,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,806,193.46. This trade represents a 22.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Steven P. Coen sold 33,171 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.41, for a total transaction of $212,626.11. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,532.09. This represents a 39.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 542,981 shares of company stock worth $3,548,999. Company insiders own 12.69% of the company's stock.

Ginkgo Bioworks Stock Up 4.7%

NYSE:DNA opened at $7.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $503.32 million, a P/E ratio of -1.44 and a beta of 1.77. Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.37 and a fifty-two week high of $17.58. The firm's 50 day moving average is $7.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.45.

Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($1.42) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.80) by $0.38. The company had revenue of $33.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.57 million. Ginkgo Bioworks had a negative net margin of 215.41% and a negative return on equity of 56.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DNA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ginkgo Bioworks in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ginkgo Bioworks from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Ginkgo Bioworks from $9.00 to $5.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ginkgo Bioworks presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $8.50.

About Ginkgo Bioworks

Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc is a synthetic biology company that designs custom microbes for customers across a range of industries. Utilizing a proprietary organism foundry platform, the company engineers cells to produce high-value chemicals, enzymes, and other biological materials. By integrating automation, data analytics and machine learning, Ginkgo Bioworks seeks to accelerate the development of biologically derived solutions at industrial scale.

The company's services span the entire development cycle, from genetic design and strain optimization to fermentation and downstream processing.

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